Vindicated
by JustCallMeMarly
Summary: Logan and Veronica. A series of their thoughts... "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." - W. Bryan


**_Disclaimer: I'd like to take credit, but I can't. Rob Thomas is the genius behind Veronica Mars and all its entailments. I had a dream where Logan was mine, though… But that doesn't count… ;)_**

**_Warning: Both direct and implied spoilers for Seasons 1 & 2. If you haven't seen the past few weeks' episodes, I suggest you don't read this just yet… Now, onto the show!_**

**_Characters/Pairing: Logan, Veronica vignettes_**

**_A/N: This is experimentation on my part. I don't usually write pieces in this manner, but it hit me and wouldn't let me go if I didn't write it. So, here it is…_**

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Vindication

1. L

He never got to see his father carted away. Instead, he'd been practicing his tight-rope routine on the Coronado Bridge ledge. The San Diego shoreline had had an unknowing preview to a perfect "10". He hadn't tried the dismount… Then, he'd gotten his ass kicked.

Even his anger at Veronica couldn't have kept him away from her apartment after he'd learned what Aaron had tried to do to her. And what he _had_ done to her father. In Logan's world, good fathers were hard to come by. The 09er reality was full of Jakes, H. Richards and Aarons as far as the eye could see… So when one of those faux-fathers tried to take out Keith Mars – probably the only incorruptible man in Neptune and truly Father of the Year – it pissed Logan off. Even if it was Logan's own father who'd tried to do the killing.

He'd missed the vindication that seeing his father injured and under armed guard would have provided. It would have made up for years of leather belts, broken bones and cigarette threats. But as he lay there, under the tender ministrations of Veronica and basking in the concern that had _never_ been directed his way before, he could think that he could live without it.

2. O

Dating the son of the man that tried to kill you was not easy. Dating the man – _boy_ – who was accused of murdering a biker and had no memory of such an event was worse. And when a person thinks that it can't get worse than it is, it always does.

Her worry over Logan's inability to talk about what happened or her anger over his inability to deal with it in a non-violent, mature way couldn't keep her from reaching out for his hand when he looked to be withdrawing. Over the past few weeks, all she'd wanted was peace again. It was what kept her from confronting Logan about her concerns so they could work through it, together. All she could be was that hand that waited for him… and maybe he'd move past it.

But he didn't. Many empty gas cans and slashed tires later, all she could do was distance herself from it all. Dwell in her constant search for 'normal'. Veronica missed the lightheartedness they'd created together. She missed the heat that seemed to always be there, even in a gaze. She even missed the sarcastic barbs they could throw back and forth with such ease. But it was when things started to go back to quiet, without him there, that she could think that she could live without it.

3. V

It didn't take a genius to figure out Logan Echolls had issues. He was an abused child of a murderer father and a dead-by-suicide mother. The only family he had left was off screwing some cheesy B-movie flick director. Trina Echolls was going to be a _star_… It didn't take a genius to figure out that his actions over the summer and the first part of the school year were an acting out of seventeen years of anger, pain, and betrayal.

But Neptune wasn't a city of geniuses. If their damned confidence in the re-elected Sheriff didn't prove that with startling clarity, he wasn't sure what would. But at least it frees Keith Mars to run for President. Holding a city sheriff's position could hamper that particular ambition… Hell, Logan would wear the first button.

Just a couple of days ago, he'd sat across from his own father. He'd seen the shackles and the bright orange prison garb. There had been no screen separating them. It had been a private meeting… for _loved_ ones. Logan had to appreciate that irony. Having the Echolls last name provided him the opportunity to face down the monster. All under the guise of love.

Logan could have continued on the path of not caring. He'd done _so _well the past few months. He could have avoided Aaron for the rest of his life, never caring what happened to him behind a set of bars. But the day he found out Aaron had been behind the bus crash merely because he'd wanted Veronica Mars to be amongst the deceased had caused the apathy to crack.

One punch had the former millionaire movie-star on the ground. One hateful look and Logan knew that he would never be allowed in the 'family' area ever again. He'd thrown up his arms in surrender as the guards approached him and he let them escort him out. But not without throwing back savage parting words and wishes that he could have done a lot worse.

Maybe the ache in his fist was vindication enough.

4. E

Dating the son of the man who could have easily been her father wasn't easy. Dating the former best friend of the boy you think you came closest to loving was bordering on tragic. Oh, Veronica loved Duncan. She was sure of that. She loved that she could depend on him. She loved that he was steady and that with him she could just be and not have to think. It was easy.

Over those long weeks since school started, she'd watched Logan struggle. She'd watched him from the safe circle of Duncan's arms. Instead of acting on that hurt in her heart as she watched the other boy become more of a shell than he'd been after Lilly's death, she'd stayed with Duncan. Her boyfriend. Her friend. Her safety. All under the guise of love.

But as she watched her father – the man she adored beyond all reason – and Alecia struggle in their own relationship fraught with bumps and detours, it became more and more apparent that perhaps love was never supposed to be easy.

She'd heard it said that it wasn't love unless it _was_ easy. But Veronica could see now how that was wrong. In 'easy', a person doesn't grow. They don't feel challenged and become better. It stays the same. Hell, 'hard' was the reason she was the Veronica she was now.

As she realized that the quiet surrounding her had become suffocating, she noticed that Logan – her own personal thunderstorm – was no where to be found. It was no surprise, really. He'd turned eighteen over a week ago and had left quietly. He'd come into his own money… and he'd said 'sayonara' by taking a few of his father's millions as well. Logan could be anywhere, doing anything, with anyone…

Maybe having to really look for him would be a vindication all its own.

5. LoVe

He shouldn't have been surprised to learn that she was looking for him. Veronica Mars had a tendency to do that. The only question that remained was whether or not Logan Echolls wanted to be found… by her, in particular.

She shouldn't have been surprised that when she finally did track him down, he was hiding somewhere just south of San Diego. He had a tendency to actually listen to her when she talked about her job and how those trying to escape notice surprisingly stuck close to home to throw off the track. He would know… he had been the son of two world-famous actors. Did he want to be found? Did he want _her_ to find him?

He sat staring at the sunset in the modest house his dead mother's money had bought him. It somehow seemed right that his mother's money bought him a new start and his father's money provided enough for comfort.

She sat staring at the sunset in the car that his father's psychotic self-importance destroyed once upon a time. It seemed right that she'd had it re-built. And it seemed right that she sat in that very car outside his new place.

The courage to knock on the front door seemed to come and go. She couldn't help but think that maybe if she'd confronted Logan before, maybe if she'd tried to work it out instead of running, they could both be whole people right now. Instead, they now had to start from scratch with only their history to patch the holes. A history that included both Lilly and Duncan. But Lilly and the Veronica Duncan wanted were both dead… and it gave her a morbid sort of comfort. A closure. Leaving Neptune meant that the past was over for Logan. Leaving Duncan had meant the same for Veronica. Now, all that needed to be figured out was what was going to happen next.

When he opened the door, a wave of happiness swept over her. This was where she was supposed to be. Not this place, this house, in particular - just where he was. Bypassing all witty openings and clever conversation, Veronica stepped close to him, gripped his arms and kissed him gently. Their kisses were always dizzying, no matter how deep. When Veronica pulled back, she looked up at him. All he could do was stare at her with those dark, intense eyes as she reached up and let her hand rest against his cheek.

"I love you…"

"I love you too…"

The words that both of their experiences had tried to make them distrust, tried so hard to make them obliterate from their vocabulary, had finally been spoken. They'd spoken them to the person they'd wanted so much to hear them. And in turn, they heard the words they wanted to hear.

_That_ was their vindication…

_Fin_

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**_  
A/N part deux: This came out of nowhere. I think it was due to my frustration at the lack of Logan and the lack of Veronica/Logan… That and the fact that a lot of the issues that arose in the season 1 finale have not been dealt with yet. Anyways, please let me know what you thought. This is my first Veronica Mars fic… :)_**


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